Florida Senate - 2014                                     SB 692
       
       
        
       By Senator Stargel
       
       
       
       
       
       15-00544A-14                                           2014692__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to engineers; amending s. 471.007,
    3         F.S.; revising qualifications and procedures for the
    4         appointment and reappointment of members to the Board
    5         of Professional Engineers; providing staggered terms;
    6         amending s. 471.013, F.S.; revising requirements for
    7         an applicant who fails a certain examination and wants
    8         to retake it in order to practice in the state as an
    9         engineer; authorizing an applicant who is delayed in
   10         taking the examination because of military service to
   11         have additional attempts to take the examination;
   12         amending s. 471.017, F.S.; revising requirements for
   13         professional development hours and license renewal for
   14         engineers; providing an effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Section 471.007, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   19  read:
   20         471.007 Board of Professional Engineers.—
   21         (1) There is created in the department the Board of
   22  Professional Engineers. The board shall consist of 11 members, 9
   23  nine of whom shall be licensed engineers and 2 two of whom shall
   24  be laypersons who are not and have never been engineers or
   25  members of any closely related profession or occupation.
   26  Licensed engineers shall be selected and appointed based on
   27  their qualifications and experience to provide expertise to the
   28  board in civil engineering, structural engineering, electrical
   29  or electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, plumbing
   30  engineering, fire protection engineering, or engineering
   31  education Of the members who are licensed engineers, three shall
   32  be civil engineers, one shall be a structural engineer, one
   33  shall be either an electrical or electronic engineer, one shall
   34  be a mechanical engineer, one shall be an industrial engineer,
   35  one shall be an engineering educator, and one shall be from any
   36  discipline of engineering other than civil engineering.
   37         (2) Members of the board shall be appointed by the Governor
   38  for terms of 4 years each. Members shall be appointed from a
   39  list of qualified nominees submitted by the Florida Engineering
   40  Society if such list is submitted.
   41         (3) When the terms of members serving as of July 1, 2014,
   42  expire, the terms of their immediate successors shall be
   43  staggered so that three members are appointed for 2 years, four
   44  members are appointed for 3 years, and four members are
   45  appointed for 4 years, as determined by the Governor. Each
   46  member holds office until the expiration of his or her appointed
   47  term or until a successor has been appointed.
   48         (4) Members may be reappointed for successive terms. If a
   49  vacancy on the board, due to resignation, death, or any other
   50  cause, is not filled by the Governor within 3 months after the
   51  vacancy occurs, the board may elect a provisional member to
   52  serve until the Governor appoints a successor.
   53         Section 2. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section
   54  471.013, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   55         471.013 Examinations; prerequisites.—
   56         (1)
   57         (e) An Every applicant who is qualified to take the
   58  fundamentals examination or the principles and practice
   59  examination may shall be allowed to take either examination
   60  three times, notwithstanding the number of times either
   61  examination has been previously failed. If an applicant fails
   62  either examination three times, the board shall require the
   63  applicant to complete additional college-level education courses
   64  or a relevant examination review course as a condition of future
   65  eligibility to take that examination. If the applicant is
   66  delayed in taking the examination due to his or her service in
   67  the United States Armed Forces, the applicant is allowed two
   68  additional attempts to take the examination before the board may
   69  require additional college-level education or examination review
   70  courses.
   71         Section 3. Subsection (3) of section 471.017, Florida
   72  Statutes, is amended to read:
   73         471.017 Renewal of license.—
   74         (3)(a) The board shall require a demonstration of
   75  continuing professional competency of engineers as a condition
   76  of license renewal or relicensure. Each Every licensee must
   77  complete at least 10 4 professional development hours, for each
   78  year of the license renewal period. For each renewal period for
   79  such continuing education:
   80         1. Four , 4 hours must shall relate to this chapter, and
   81  the rules adopted under this chapter, and professional ethics;
   82         2. Four and the remaining 4 hours must shall relate to the
   83  licensee’s area of practice; and
   84         3. The remaining hours may relate to any topic pertinent to
   85  the practice of engineering.
   86  
   87  Up to 12 hours may be earned by presenting or attending
   88  seminars, in-house courses, workshops, or professional or
   89  technical presentations given at meetings, conventions, or
   90  conferences, including those presented by vendors with specific
   91  knowledge related to the licensee’s area of practice. Up to 4
   92  hours may be earned by serving as an officer or actively
   93  participating on a committee of the Florida Engineering Society.
   94  The courses required under s. 471.0195 may apply to the
   95  requirements of this paragraph except the requirement under
   96  subparagraph 1.
   97         (b) The board shall adopt rules that are substantially
   98  consistent with the Continuing Professional Competency
   99  Guidelines of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering
  100  and Surveying for multijurisdictional licensees for the purpose
  101  of avoiding proprietary continuing professional competency
  102  requirements and shall allow nonclassroom hours to be credited.
  103  The board may, by rule, exempt from continuing professional
  104  competency requirements retired professional engineers who no
  105  longer sign and seal engineering documents and licensees in
  106  unique circumstances that severely limit opportunities to obtain
  107  the required professional development hours.
  108         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.